5 Golden Rings pours an opaque golden orange with a thin white head—you
can see the carbonation fighting through the body in slow, measured time. The
nose is a tart, citric pineapple front and center; behind that, there is some
chewy rounded Belgian malt and yeast character, but the pineapple is currently
running the show. Flavors start with pineapple and malt sweetness, leading into
a chewier rounded middle mixed with alcohol warmth. In the finish, there is a
touch of bitterness before the alcohol heat comes into play—it is the warmth
that points to the youth of this beer more than anything else. This beer is going
to need some time to come together—the pineapple is too much the pineapple-juice-out-of-a-can-of-fruit right now, and the alcohol warmth is a too much. I
will say that the beer is well-attenuated; I expected it to get stickier as it
warmed, when it actually dried out more on the palate. But otherwise, this beer
needs to sit in the cellar for two or three years to figure itself out. Because
right now—and it does pain me to say this, loving on the Bruery as I do—this
beer is not very drinkable. So if you’ve got it, age it for posterity. Come
back to this one. Forget about it for now. You might not thank me later, but
you’ll certainly thank me now.

From the bottle: “The fifth verse of our ‘Twelve Beers of Christmas’
saga incorporates sweet, cake-like spice into a rich and robust golden ale.
Happy Holidays! 5 Golden Rings is suitable for aging up to seven years (soon
after release of ‘Twelve Drummers Drumming’) when cellared properly.”